Reno Gazette-Journal

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – Squaw Valley’s Travis Ganong and Marco Sullivan said the downhill course that they’ll race on during Sunday’s first Alpine event of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics is challenging and the snow is in great shape.

Ganong, entering his first Olympics, and Sullivan of Truckee, a veteran competing in his fourth Winter Games, answered questions during a media event after their first of three practice runs on the downhill course as they prepare for Sunday’s race.

Ganong, 25, said he skied the downhill course at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center two years ago during a test event and said the course is in better shape today.

“It’s nice to be back on the hill,” Ganong said. “I think the top part, they prepared it a lot differently than when we were here two years ago. It’s really nice winter snow on the top part, which is what we like. It’s not super icy like last time. So it’s nice to have some really good snow on the top. The bottom is pretty rough but it’s nice to be back on the hill again.”

Ganong was the 2013 super G champion on his home mountain – Squaw Valley – and won two gold medals in the 2010 U.S. championship, one in the downhill and the other in the super G. He said he’s thrilled to race on the U.S. Olympic Team. His parents, Jan and Rick Ganong, will be in Sochi to watch.

Sullivan, 33, recalled when the team arrived for those test races two years ago and the valley was not yet developed.

“I think it’s really incredible,” he said. “We came two years ago and there was four hotels at the base of that gondola – the one gondola and now there are a dozen gondolas. It’s amazing how much work they’ve put in.”

“Our experience now is it’s much more user-friendly,” Sullivan said. “It’s really easy to get into the country, get to our place, get up on the hill every day with minimal distraction.”

Their teammate, five-time Olympic veteran Bode Miller, won Thursday’s training run and praised the course, especially compared with their past experience. He said the complaints led to improvements.

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“The guys were hurting themselves or came out sore -- I was one of them who came out pretty beat up. That’s where I hurt my knee,” he said. “I was psyched to come out and see the course in such good shape.”

“The jumps are long, maybe a little lower, which is kind of nice for us old guys, but the air is big,” he said. “It seems like the consequences of making a mistake are still really high which I think is what downhill is about. You have to put some risks together to make up time.

“I think the hill is the toughest we’ve seen this year. It’s really exciting when you have a chance to test yourself at for Olympic medals on a hill that really tests an Alpine ski racer.”

Sullivan said the racers finished Thursday’s practice run saying how great the snow was and said some missed gates, which shows how challenging the course is.Sullivan competed in the 2002, 2006 and the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was U.S. downhill champion in 2007 and 2009 but was disqualified from the downhill race in Vancouver.

He’s said he has made adjustments that he hopes will earn him a place on the podium.

“I’ve realized over the years that nobody remembers you were in the Olympics of you don’t stand on the podium, so I’m just trying to give it everything this week and remember the battles the past couple of years to get back to this point and ski hard and give it everything out there.”